Ignition device



March 24, 1931. F- H, PRESCQTT 1,797,838

IGNITION DEVICE Filed July 22,1929 2 sheets-sheet 2 fag. 2.

Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED ISTATES.-g

`,PATENT OFFICE FRANK n. rEEsco'r'Eor ANDERSON, INDIANA,-Ass1GNoE 'roDELco-EEMY CORPORA- TIoN, or ANDERSON,l INDIANA, A CORPORATION orDELAWARE r.

d cordance with variations Application mea July 22,

This invention relates to improvements in ignition apparatus forinternal combustion engines, said ignition apparatus comprising a timeradapted to be adjusted automatically to vary the time of Ysparkingimpulses in acconditions.

I t is among the objects of the present invention to modify the actionof the ignition adjusting means in accordance' with the setting of theengine fuel supply device in either its engine starting or enginerunning position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means operableconcurrently to adjust the engine fuel supply .device to provide acomparatively rich mixture for engine starting purposes and to modifythe action of the ignition device adjusting means whereby the time ofsparking impulses for engine starting purposes will be substantiallyretarded. y Further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings,wherein a preferred embodiment of one form of thepresent invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view; partly diagrammatic, showing theignition device,`its adjusting mechanism and the engine fuel supplydevice withrits component f Fig. 2 is a modified form of the present inventionshowing the means for modifying the action of thev ignitiondevice adjusting means as a part of the fuel supply device controllingmeans.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken .along the line 3-s-3 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view showing g a second modified form of the control device.

Referring to the drawings, and vmore particularly `to the Fig. 1thereof, the numeral 20 designates a portion of the engine intake pipewhich communicates, through the engine manifold, not shown, with thecombustion chanbers of the engine. Pipe'20 has a tubular extension 2 1which forms the air intake in engine operating v .iIoNrrIoN DEvrcE 1929.Serial No. 380,124.

pipe for the fuel mixture supply device comprising suitable fuel nozzlesand a fuel reservoir, not shown, but associated with pipes 20 and 21 inthe ordinary manner. The dotted line 21a indicates the air and fuelmixture passage, which has a choke-valve 23 provided therein,adjacentithe end 22 opening to atmosphere. Choke valve 23 is supportedupon "a shaft 24S-extending transversely across the air intake passage,and journalled in the opposite wall portions of pipe 21, one end of saidshaft extending outside said pipe -21 and having the operating lever 25attached thereto by screw 26. j Within the passage in pipe 20 there isprovided a throttle valve 27, whichlis adapted to vcontrol theintroduction of fuel and air mixture into the engine by the Operation ofthe throttle lever 28, secured to the outside of the shaft 29 upon whichthe throttle 27 is car# ried. The pipe 20 has a transverse passage 30providing communication between atmosthrottle 27 is positioned, whichpassage is in communication with said engine suction.

Passage 30 is adapted to receive a tubular Aextension 3l of the controlvalve 32, which comprises "the housing 33 having a through passage 34 incommunication with the `pas- Alb.

sage 35 of the tubular extension 31.

other passage 36,oflset from, or out of alignment with the passage 35,is provided in the housing 33. Within the vpassage 34 ofthe housing 33 aplunger valve 37 is slidably supported, said plunger valve having anelongated, annular fg'roove 38 which forms` a chamber within the passage34,` said chainber, being adapted to provide communication betweenpassages 35 and 36 when the plunger valve 37 is moved into the positionas shown in the Fig. 1. The plunger valve 37, has one vend of a Bowdenwire 39 secured thereto, said Bowden wire also being secured to theoperating lever 25 of the choke valve 23. g5

The Bowden wire-39 extends toany suitable location -sothat the operatormay readily grasp the same to operate it. An armored tubing 40 'has oneend extending into the passage 34 of housing 33, the other end of saidtubing beingl supported attached to housing 21.-

From the aforegoing it may be seen that operation of the Bowden wire 39in one direction will open the choke-valve 23 and will move the slidevalve 37 so that the annular groove 38 forming a chamber within passage34 will provide communication between pas` sages 35 and 36. When theBowden wire 39 is operated in the opposite direction, the choke valve 23will be moved to close the airv intake pipe 21 ,and likewise plungervalve' 37 will be moved so that the annular groove 38 will no moreprovide communication between t-he passages 35 and 36, another portionof the slide valve 37 substantially closing said passages. 'l

The ignition apparatus for the internal combustion engine comprises atimer 50, hav-` ing a housing 51 in which an interrupter supby a bracket41 `porting plate 52 is rotatably supported.

Plate 52 has an arm 53 extending outside the circular housing 51 andinto the cylinder 54, which ma be attached to or be formed integral witthe circular housing 51. The interrupter supported on plate 52 comprisesa stationary contact 55 supported by bracket 56, which is attached tothe. plate 52 in any suitable manner, and grounded through said plate. Apost 57 carried by the plate 52 pivotally supports the arm 58 upon thefree end of which is carried the lcontact 59. A rubbing block 60 isattached to the arm 58 byA rivet 61, said rivet also securing oneend ofthe spring conductor 62 to .the arm.` The yother end of said springconductor 62 is electrically connected with the terminal 63 which inturn is insulatingly supported by thehousing 51. A shaft 64 adapted tobe driven by the engine in any suitable manner, is journalled in thehousing 51, said shaft carrying a cam 65 provided with a plurality oflobes which are adapted to engage the rubbing block when the cam isrotated by engine operation, thus moving the contact- 59 out ofenga-gement with the stationary contact 55.

The ignition coil of the ignition apparatus comprises a primary winding70, having its one end connected to the terminal 63, the other endbeingconnected to one side of the battery 7l, the opposite side of thebattery bein grounded as at 72. The secondary win in 73 of the ignitioncoil is in electrical connection withithe high tension terminal 74 ofthe distributor. Thedistributor has terminals 75' adapted to beconnected with the p respective cylinders of the engine, sparkingimpulses from the high tension terminal 74 by a rotor 76 supported uponthe shaft 64 and driven thereby.

The cylinder 54 of the distributor housing i has end caps 80 and 81tightlyrclosing the cylinder ends. .End cap 8O has an interior eyelet 82to which is attached one end of :a

spring 83, the other end of said spring being secured to the arm 53.Spring 83 normally urges the plate 52 in' a clockwise direction, or morespecifically in a direction corresponding to the direction of rotationof cam 65, thus the effect of the spring 83 upon plate 52 is to retardthe time of circuit interruptions at contacts 55 and 59 and thus retardthe time of sparking impulses for the internal combustion engine. Thecylinder 54 has a reciprocating piston 85 which is operatively connectedwith the arm 53 of the interrupter plate 52.` The cylinder space betweenthe piston `85 and the cover cap 81 ism communicationwith a tube.86, oneend thereof being supported or carried by the end cover cap 81, saidtube having its opposite end extending into an enlarged 'portion v01Ethe passage., 36.

From the aforegoing it may be seen that during normal engine operation,or more specifically while the engine is operating with the choke valve23 in the position as shown in Fig. 1, plunger valve 37 providescommunication between passages 35 and 36, which will consequently permitengine suction within the passage 21a tobe transmitted through passage35, annular groove 38 formed in the plunger 37, passage 36, tube 86 tothe interior of cylinder, 54, said suction after reaching apredetermined value causing the piston 85 to move toward the right asregards Fig. 1 against the effect of spring 83, there by rotating theplate 52 counter-clockwlse and thus advancing the time of circuitinterruptions at contacts 55 and 59, thus advancing the time of sparkingimpulses for the engine. The amount of movement of piston 85 toward theright as regards Fig. 1 depends upon the degree'of suction' within theintake passage of the engine, or more specifically within the passagecontaining throttle valve 27.

When the engine is inoperative and no suction is being provided in theintake passage of the engine, spring 83 will move the ignitioninterrupter supportin plate 52 clockwise to retard the i ition evice.

To start the engine the operator will exert a .pull upon the Bowden wirecontrol 39 the Bowden wire 29 will also move the plunger valve 37 intothe passage 34 so that the upperv or solid end of the valve 37 w1ll bemoved in front of the passage 36 and conbemg distributed to the variousterminals l7 5 sequently communication between passages 35 and 36 willbe closed. A stop screw'46 substantially prevents movement of theplunger valve 37 beyond a proper point in either direction. The fuelmixture device is now set to provide a' comparatively rich mixture forstarting purposes. Rotation of the en gine when the -iiuid mixture'supply device is so set will create a comparatively high vacuum withinsaid fluid mixture supply device for'purposes of providing a richmixture for the engine for starting purposes, said vacuum, however, notbeing transmittable to the-cylinder 54 inasmuch as the plunger valve 37is ina position in which passages 35 and 36 are not in communication, ashas been described heretofore. N o 'suction being' exerted within thecylinder 54, spring 83 will adjust the timer substantiallyto fullyvretarded position, thus the time of for the engine during the startingthereof, or more specifically while the fuel supply device.

is choked, will be practically, fully retarded.`

As soon as the engine has become self-operating, the Bowden wire 39 isInoved in the opposite direction so that the ylever 2,5 is rotatedclockwise, thus the air pipe will be fully opened bythe. movement' ofthe valve 23 into the positloniasshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, themovement of the Bowden wire 39 concurrently moves the slide'valve 37 sothat the annular groove 38 thereof providing a chamber- Within passage`34 will provide communication between passages 35 and 36. SuctionWithin the fuel mixture device will now be transmitted through the)passages 35 and 36 and tube 86 to the cylinder 54 operatadjustedproperly to set the time of sparking impulses in accordance withengineopera tion. Increased suction in the fuel supply device willautomatically advance the time of sparking impulses by moving the piston85 toward the end of the Kcylinder 54 communieating with pipe 86. f

In the Fig. 2 the valve which controls communication between the suctionchamber in vthe fluid supply device and the cylinder `54 comprises aportion of the choke valve.V In

` this instance the s toV aft 124, corresponding to the shaft 24 of thestructure shown in Fig. 1 has one'end extending into an enlarged lug thehousing portion 121, said portion of munication between the recesses 127and 128, which recesses are adapted to receive tubes i 129 and 130respectively communicating with the the cylinder 54 and they suctionchamber 131 respectively. When the choke valve 123 is in position asshown in dotted lines inthe position a full air supplyv Fig. 2, in whichis directed to the` intake passage of Athe i'enl glne, passage 126 ofshaft 124 provides comjmunlcation between the cylinder 54 and the withpipes 129 and 130, thus spring 83 will be permitted to move the plate 52to'spark retarding position. In this instance shaft 124 spar-kingimpulses Y `tions respectively. 1ng.=p1ston 85 so that the plate 52 willbe the shaft 'having ,a transl verse passage 126'adapted to providecom-- valve 123 is ophas an operating lever 132-provided with a i' stud133 having provisions vfor receiving the Bowden wire 139 so that saidoperating lever 132 may be secured to the Bowden wire.

In the Fig. 4 another modified form of the present invention is shown.In this instance the valve controlling communication between thecylinder 54 and the suction chamber 141 of the fuel supply device ismounted upon the fuel supply device adjacent the air intake end 142thereof. Inthis casea housing 143 is provided having a through-passage144 containing plunger valve 145, said plunger valve v145 being inloperating connection with the operating lever 146 of the shaft 147 uponwhich the choke vvalve 148 iscarried. Plunger valve 145 vhaving anannular groove 155 ,similar to plunger valve 37 of FigQl, may be chokevalve 148 as well as the position of the plunger valve v145, lso thatboth valves' 145 and 148 may be concurrently opened or closed for enginerunning'or-engine starting condi- The present invention providesapparatus whereby when the engine is choked so thata substantially richfuel mixture is provided. for starting purposes, the action of theignition adjusting mechanism will be modified so that alretarded sparkobtains. Opening of the choke valve for engine running conditions willmove the control valve so as to subject the ignition adjusting means toengine suction whereby the ignition device will automatically beadjusted in accordance with engine suction conditions. While the form ofembodiment of the :present invention, as herein disclosed, constitutes apreferred form, it is tocvbe understood that other forms might beadopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow- -Whatis claimed is as follows:

1'. In an'ignition device for an internal 'I A f means and to connectthe ignition deviceadjusting means withthe carburetor.

In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having an intakepipe, the

combi ation with a valve for controlling Ithe openin of said pipe; of anignition device for said engine; means normally holding the' ignitiondevice in spark retarding positionros ` and dependent upon enginesuction for adjusting said device to advance the time` of sparkingimpulses; and'manually operable means adapted concurrently'.tooperatesaid valve to open the intake pipe and to render the aforementionedmeans effective to move tlie ignition device to advanC,G .i3he time ofsparking impulses. f 3. In an ignition device for an internalcombustion'engine having an intake pipe, the

combination with a valve for varying the opening of said pipe, of anignition device for said engine; engine suction operated means foradjusting the ignition device out of normal, spark retarding positioninto a position to advance the' time :of sparking impulses; and manuallyoperable meansl adapted concurrently to open the valve and to connectthe adjusting means for the ignition device with the intake ppe of theengine.

4. In an ignition device forsanzinternalcombustion engine having anintake pipe, theI combination With a throttle valve for con" controlvalveformodifying the action of the suction operated means.

5. In an `ignition device for an internal.

combustion engine having `a carburetor provided Withan air intake port,the combinatarding position in accordance with enginel tion with athrottle valve for saidport; of an ignition device for said engine;nsuction controlled means automatically operable to move the ignitiondevice out of normal, spark ref conditions to vary the time of sparkingimpulses; a plunger valve for connecting the.

suction controlled means with air intake pipes of the carburetor andmeans manually operable concurrently to adjust the throttle valve andoperate the plunger valve to modify the action of the means foradjusting the ignition device. y f` 6. In an ignition device for aninternal combustion engine having a carburetor provided 'With an airintake port, the combination with a throttle valve for said port.; of anignition device for said engine; means automatically operable to adjustthe ignition de-` vice in accordance With engine conditions to vary thetime of sparking impulses; a control ,device for said means: and meansoperable concurrently -to close the throttle valve and operate thecontrol device to control `the means for adjusting the ignition deviceso that said ignition device will be adjusted to fully retard the timeof sparking impulses.

7.' In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine having acarburetor provided with an intake port, the coinbination with athrottle valve for controlling the opening of said port; of an ignitiontimer coinprising an interrupter and an engine driven cam for operatingsaid interrupter; suction controlled means for varying the angularrelation between the interrupter and cam in order to advance the time ofsparking impulses; a manually operable member for controlling the iaforementioned means; and

means adapted concurrently to operate the throttle valve and the saidmember to modify Y the action of the aforementioned suction controlledimeans.

v8. In an ignition device for an internal combustion enginehaving acarburetor p rovided with an intake port, the combination with athrottle valve for controlling the opening of said port; of an ignitiontimer com prising an interrupter and an engine driven cam for operatingsaid interrupter; a spring adaptedv to mov the interrupter relative tothe cam fdr varyingthe angular relation between thel interrupter and camso as to fully 'retard the time of sparking imp ulses; a suctionoperated apparatus including a piston adapted to move the interruptertoward spark time advancing position, a control valve adapted to beoperated to connect the suction voperated apparatus with the intake ofthe carburetor; and common me'ans for control! ling the throttleandcontrol valves.

9. In an ignition device for an internal combustion engine'having acarburetor provided With an intake port, the combination Withatlirottle-valve for controlling the opening'of said port; of anignition timer comprisinganinterrupter and an engine vdriven cam foroperating said interrupter; a spring adapted to move the interrupterrelative to retard the time of sparking impulses; a suction operatedapparatus including a piston adapted to move the interrupter towardspark time advancing position; a control valve adapted to be operated toconnect thesuction operated apparatus with the intake of the carburetor;and acommonmember operable to open concurrently both throttle andcontrol valves. i A .Y

10. In an ignitiondevice for an internal combustion engine having acarburetor provided With an intake conduit, the combinajusted to varythe time of sparking impulses; suction operated means for adjusting saidignition timer to advance the time of sparking impulses in accordancewith engine operation; a choke-valve for said intake con duit, saidchoke'valve being adapted, when operated, to vary the opening oftheintake conduit; a member for controlling the sucthe cam for varyingthe angular relation bev tween the interrupter and cam so as to fullytion with an ignition timer adapted to be adtion operated means; andmanual means for simultaneously adj ustinrr the choke valve and saidmember to modify he action of the ignition device adjusting means inaccordance with the position of the choke valve.

In testlmony whereof I hereto aix my signature.

FRANK H. PRESCOTT.

